New Delhi:
Fourteen coaches of the Delhi-Guwahati Rajdhani derailed in Bihar this morning. The incident took place near Naugachiya between the Katihar and Khagaria stations.
No casualties have been reported yet. Police have said there are no reports of passengers being injured either. But the Delhi-Guwahati rail route, up and down, has been disrupted.
While five passenger trains, including the Tatanagar -Chapra Express, have been cancelled, at least three express trains have been diverted. These include the Awadh Assam Express, Mahananda Express and the Barmer-Guwahati Express.
The driver of the train said he applied emergency brakes after hearing a loud explosion. But no Maoists link is being indicated as of now.
PK Thaku, Additional Director General, Bihar told NDTV: "This particular area is not Maoist affected."
The top policeman said investigation would reveal what had happened, but "this stretch...has had a history of the tracks generally giving in. Last year also, not with Rajdhani but with another train, there was a similar incident on this stretch itself."
He said the 14 coaches had tilted but not overturned.
Helpline Numbers: Naugacchia 06421-223152;
Baruni 06279-232220;
Khagaria 06244 -222049;
Hajipur 06224-272230